Catalytic oxidation of olefins to carbonyl compounds is well known in the art.
In U.S. Pat. No. 560,803 a process is disclosed for preparing ketones by oxidation of olefins with a rhenium catalyst. However, some isoolefins are disclosed to be unreactive in forming the desired ketones using this catalyst.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,632,833 a process is disclosed for the oxidation of propylene in the presence of rhodium metal. The product was disclosed to be mostly acrolein with minor amounts of acetone, acetic acid, propionic acid and acrylic acid.
In German OS 27 44207 a process is disclosed for the production of an oxidized product by the catalytic oxidation of an organic compound with a dioxide. The catalyst is a Rh(I) -complex and the reaction medium is a special phosphorous compound in a liquid state.
The object of the present invention is to provide a process for producing a carbonyl compound by catalytic oxidation of an olefin which is easy to conduct and which is applicable to a broad variety of olefins. Another object is to avoid the formation of undesired by-products. A further object is to provide a process for the production of rhodium catalysts.